Most clips here come from MarlonH8's speedruns (Thanks Marlon!) but it would be nice to record them as individual clips and embed them here, instead of sending the reader to another tab for every trick/strat.

It is highly recommended that all runs (except for Training where you always play as Trainee) should be played as a character with the Athlete trait, as it allows you to move faster than soldiers that don't have it. Filling out your team with Athlete characters is a smart choice, in case of one of the characters dying during the run (You can reset the console after the ending screen to skip the automatic save to prevent the game from deleting your character, however you won't obtain the rank or experience gained from the run). A special character that you can obtain by completing the Hard IM is Raiden which always has this trait. Additionally, he carries a half blade, which can kill enemies pretty easily, making him a favourable choice for the last stage.

Rolling into APs in IMs can be slightly faster than walking into them, however it's important that you're close enough to the AP, as the recover part of the roll is slower. Make sure you are at the right angle before rolling, as you can miss the AP and lose time.

You cannot bring items to most game modes, exception being the Boss Rush mode.

• Ladder Snap - You can press triangle a little earlier in order to snap on to the ladder (and often immediately be able to move). Works mostly when you're in front of the ladder, but being slightly off should work too. The second ladder on the first stage is the perfect place to utilize it.

• FOX Unit Interactions - If you play as the FOX Unit on Stage 2, the FOX guard won't care about you (unless you bump into him). This doesn't really change much in Rush!, other than your rank at the end, as enemies are extremely weak on Easy. On Raid! and Recruit! however, it might be beneficial for the guard to hear you, as you can perform the much faster slam instead of the choke, as the guard will turn away, changing your CQC move to the slam. Slam in action.

• Counter Roll - On Stage 2 the quickest way into the AP is by rolling over the counter blocking your path from it. Just like with ladders, you can do the roll a bit earlier (I don't know the exact time frame) you will be able to preserve your momentum and roll into the AP without needing additonal inputs.

• Stage 4 Leap of Faith - On stage 4 if you roll just right, you can drop on to the ground next to the tower the AP is on. The angle should be slightly to the right of the vertex in front of the AP (did this even make sense?).